The Aral natural-geographic district

The Aral district lies in the central part of the Turan plain between the Ustyurt and Kyzylkum districts, bordering Kazakhstan in the north and the Lower Amudarya in the south. The basin of the Aral Sea arose through tectonic movements and was filled by Amudarya and Syrdarya water; over thousands of years its level rose and fell for natural reasons. From the 1960s, as irrigated land, reservoirs, cities and population grew, both rivers poured less and less into the Aral, while evaporation from the lake surface went on, so the sea level fell sharply and the sea broke into almost separate parts. Present state: the Eastern (southern) basin almost entirely dried up in the 2010s and only a small part of the Western basin remains; the Northern (Small) Aral in Kazakhstan has been partly restored thanks to the Kokaral dam built in 2005. In place of the sea a new Aralkum desert of salt, sand and saline soils has formed. Wind carries salt and dust from it, harming crops, pastures and human health, and making the climate harsher: winters are colder and summers hotter. Ways to fight it: planting saxaul, calligonum and other plants on the dry bed (phyto-melioration), saving water and drip irrigation, barriers against sand, and international cooperation. The seabed also offers oil, gas, rock salt, healing mud and pasture.